“That’s. . . ,” Valij gulped, “a Vamperic Wolf.”

Ryu got off from Valij and eyed the creature carefully while Valij was quick on her toes and stood to her feet, claymore in hand.

Grrr . . .

The Vamperic Wolf smashed its massive paws against the ground, pebble and dirt flying from the force as a crevice formed where it stood. Its tail whip side to side, and the air whistled at the force.

Cold sweat forced a path from Valij forehead to her cheeks. “What’s it doing here?” Vamperic Wolves were usually active during the fourth moon, and it was unusual to find one in Corpse mountain. They prefer snow and cold climate because of their thick furs. Not the dump, and dead land like Corpse mountain.

Licking its snout, the hound snarled when Ryu took a stance to attack it.

“Don’t rush to your death.” At this point, Valij didn’t care about Ryu’s race. The important thing at the moment was to defeat the Vamperic Wolf. Even she had to cooperate with the half-breed. “Its claws and teeth are poisonous.”

Ryu grumbled. He already knew that. He smelled the poison from the hound perfectly fine.

The Vamperic wolf howled, and countless pentagrams appeared before it. Spikes dripping in red liquid peeked from the pentagrams before it shot towards Ryu and Valij.

“Don’t let it touch you!” Valij warned before she dodged. In addition, Valij used her claymore to block the spikes.

Ryu leaped from here and there, and all the spikes hit was his after image. He dodged easily with his speed and still maintain a presence of mind to observed his surroundings.

Wherever the spikes collided, a sizzling sound resounded followed by rot to all it touched. The poison of the Vamperic wolf was lethal, and they didn’t have a healer to cast [Purify] on them.

Valij was maybe a mage knight, but her magic was limited to the offensive with little recovery magic. And she was afraid that her little knowledge of the healing spells wouldn’t do much against the Vamperic wolf’s poison.

Valij was not as agile as Ryu as she held a gigantic blade in hand. She used her sword to block than doge, and she imbued herself with a spell to boost her defense.

While Ryu was careful with his every move. He couldn’t use mana, so being grazed by the hound meant death to him. He was beginning to realize how powerless he truly was without mana.

Shrk!

Boulders as large as a person smashed into the Vamperic hound’s direction.

[Stone Mash]

Valij cast a spell. Her affinity was earth, so most of her spells used the earth element.

Sensing danger, the Vamperic hound fled at high speed. Despite its size, it moved lightning fast, and the rock only left an aperture on the ground.

“Tsk.” Valij clicked her tongue. She cast another spell to double her defenses as she charged directly into the jaws of the Vamperic wolf.

Swish!

Swoosh!

Multiple claw-like blades hacked into Valij. With Valij speed, it was impossible to dodge the incoming claws. She activated her skill, [Aura Blade], and she struck with her claymore. Four force blades shot from her sword and met the incoming claws head-on.

Boom!

Boom!

The Vamperic wolf claw blades were met against Valij aura force, and the explosion rattled the ground and flung the dirt. Deflecting the energy like claws, Valij closed the distance between her and the Vamperic wolf.

With all her might, Valij swung her claymore against the hound.

Clang!

“Shit!” Seeing that the Vamperic wolf didn’t even flinch nor avoided her weapon, it was confident of its defense. And true enough, not even the sharpness of her blade and the force of her strength could damage its fur.

The Vamperic hound wiped with its paws, and Valij avoided with her speed.

“Aim for its stomach!” Ryu snarled. He sensed that the beast’s core was near its stomach. All they had to do was destroy it.

Valij flung a look at Ryu but didn’t say anything. Maybe the beast in him could sense other beasts’ cores. But more importantly, thin furs lined the Vamperic wolf’s stomach. It was its weak spot.

The Vamperic wolf was breed for killing. Its body was massive, and its paws were sturdy. One blow from those would mean mincemeat.

Ryu and Valij scattered in its wake. None dared to face it head-on.

The Vamperic wolf came to a halt and glanced at them with its slit eyes. It was thinking. It was a Rank-B beast with intelligence like a human. Then it went leaping into Valij.

“Why me?!” Valij spat. Was it because Ryu was part beast?

The Vamperic wolf moved in swiftness, and its paws were able to attack at terrifying speed.

“Damn it!” It was too late to dodge, and with her speed against the Vamperic wolf, she was at a disadvantage. She immediately cast a spell.

[Earth Armor]

Earthen light enveloped Valij’s whole body, and she raised her claymore to block the incoming thousand-pound wolf.

Wham!

The rocks enveloping Valij shattered and broke, and the ground where she stood had a hole with deep cracks around it. More importantly, she managed to defend against it!

This beast was a Rank-B for a long time, and it required another Rank-B nearing Rank-A merc to defeat it. Luckily for Valij, she was almost at the level of a Rank-A mercenary. Just a couple of skill and spell scrolls and upgrading her stats through raining, and she’ll pass the Rank-A test.

The Vamperic wolf possessed extremely thick, durable fur and skin and tremendous power. Its speed and attack speed were also astonishing. Not to mention the poison from its fangs and claws.

Valij didn’t know how to counter it since it was his first fight with a Vamperic wolf and that she didn’t expect it to appear in Corpse mountain.

Could it be . . .

Ryu appeared out of nowhere and swiped his claws, but the Vamperic wolf evaded and jumped to the side before it charged forward at Ryu and Valij, barring its massive paws at the two.

Both retreated at high speed.

Bam!

The sound of the wolf’s paws against the ground produce vibration, and cracks erupted ten meters from the blow.

Swish!

From below Ryu and Valij, spikes coated with crimson venom erupted from the ground where they stood.

“Shit!” Valij cursed in surprise and leaped into the air. But the spikes grew longer in size, and the last thing she saw was the sharp edge of a giant needle dripping with lethal poison before she was flung to the side.

“Kuk!” Valij came crushing on the dirt and rocks. She groaned and looked over at Ryu, who stood at her side, blood dripping from his arm.